A sum of 10,000 euros: this is the initial investment you need to produce maps. Yet money is not enough since you also need a cartography specialist and to permanently adjust and update maps in line with consumers' requirements. The reward? Selling a map for even as much as 1,500 euros to people in need of your products.
"The mission of the firm is to help individuals and legal entities find directions and organise themselves more efficiently with the help of maps". This is how Jozsef Kuszalik, manager of Micro Mapper, Cluj-Napoca, defined his map business.
It began in 2001, when Kuszalik, providing cartographic services to several firms, realised he could handle orders himself and that it was time he started his own business.
He has a wide range of customers, particularly due to the general profile of the company. "Digital maps are acquired especially by academics and by firms, personalised maps made to order by public administration employees, touristic and road paper maps and navigational and leisure GPS-es by people who have a medium and above-the-medium income and are university graduates," recounts Kuszalik.
Turnover in 2005 revolved around 100,000 RON (28,250 euros) and has been going up every year since the firm started operating. "This growth is due to activity diversification and to the rising volume of distributed maps. In 2006, turnover will get bigger owing to the fact that Micro Mapper's activities have developed on all levels: there were four editions of printed maps, with cardboard covers, we contributed to the Digital Romania Project with new data about 10 cities and we stepped up the distribution of paper maps," explained Kuszalik.
Map prices are not high, with the mountain maps as the cheapest products, with prices ranging between 7.90 RON (2.25 euros) and 13.40 RON (3.82 euros).
Beside the maps sold online, Micr
